Talking over the extracellular matrix: How do cells communicate mechanically?

Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2017 Nov:71:99-105. doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2017.06.010. Epub 2017 Jun 16.

Abstract

Communication between cells enables them to coordinate their activity and is crucial for the differentiation, development, and function of tissues and multicellular organisms. Cell-cell communication is discussed almost exclusively as having a chemical or electrical origin. Only recently, a new mode of cell communication was elucidated: mechanical communication through the extracellular matrix (ECM). Cells can communicate mechanically by responding either to mechanical deformations generated by their neighbors or to a change in the mechanical properties of the ECM induced by a neighboring cell. This newly resolved mode of communication possesses unique features that complement the cellular ability to receive and share information, and to consequently act in a cooperative way with surrounding cells. Herein, we review several examples of mechanical communication, discuss their unique properties, and comment on the major challenges facing the field.

Keywords: Cardiac cell synchronization; Cell mechanics; Extracellular matrix stiffness; Mechanical communication; Mechanosensing.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Cell Communication
  • Cell Movement
  • Extracellular Matrix*
  • Humans
  • Myocardium / cytology